Deal
by Luna Darkside
Summary: Hakuba and Kaito make a deal. Oh Kaito, do you know what you just got yourself into? /ShinKai, complete/
1. Jealous

_Full A/N is at the bottom! Hope you like it! - Luna _

* * *

_**Deal**_

**Chapter One: ****Jealous**

It was a bright sunny day, filled with the scent of imminent summer, the sky painted azure, the clouds cottony –

"WHAT?!" an exorbitantly shrill voice yelled, blasting the tranquility apart in one quick move.

The source of the scream was a messy-haired teenage boy named Kuroba Kaito, who, after releasing the aforementioned sound, was panting hard, staring over the café table at his companion in utter shock. The staff and fellow customers of Poirot, the café the two were currently conversing in, all turned to stare.

"Kuroba! Shut the hell up!" his companion, who happened to be a blond, apparently English boy named Hakuba Saguru, snapped, glaring at him. "People are watching!"

Kaito, ignoring him, closed his mouth and relaxed slightly, picking up his coffee cup calmly. Saguru was somewhat disturbed by his sudden serenity and warily watching the other one for a moment.

Setting down his coffee cup with a soft clink, Kaito smiled indulgently at the frowning Englishman. "No."

"What?! Why?!" It was Saguru's turn to nearly shatter the glass windows of Poirot as he jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair. Sensing the gazes of many others, he lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper and leaned over the table menacingly. "Kuroba, I don't even need your approval to date Aoko-kun! I was _trying _to be polite, but if you're going to –"

Kaito blinked, and in that moment his eyes went from benevolent to near-anger. "Hakuba, you do realize that Aoko is like my sister – no, she _is _my sister – and there is no way in heaven or hell I'd _ever _let _my_ _sister_ date a... a _person _like you."

Saguru sent him a heated glare. He could tell Kuroba wasn't going to change his mind. And if Kuroba didn't change his mind, there would be absolutely no chance of him ever coming within a three mile radius of Nakamori Aoko, lest he want to spend the rest of his days with violet skin and glue-coated hair.

Reflecting on his options, Saguru allowed a smirk to slip over his face as a particularly delightful thought entered his mind. He sat back down carefully, and Kaito stared him down.

"I think you, Kuroba, are jealous of _me."_

Blinking in shock, comprehending, Kaito did nothing. Then he exploded.

"_The hell, Hakuba?!" _he shouted (this time the staff and customers didn't even bother looking over).

"You're jealous that I found someone," sang Saguru, grinning madly.

"What's _wrong _with you, Hakuba? I could get _any girl _I'd ever want, bastard!" Kaito yelled.

_Great. Step 2, _Hakuba thought to himself. Outwardly he queried, "Anygirl?"

"Yes," Kaito replied icily.

"Any_one_?"

"Um... yes?" answered Kaito, frowning in slight confusion at the implication the Brit was apparently trying to force into his words.

"So... any _person_?"

"Yes, you idiot! What's your freaking point?!"

Steepling his fingers, Hakuba sneered, "Prove it."

"Ha. No problem." Hailing down a pretty young waitress, Kaito smiled charmingly, and, with a flick of his wrist, produced a white rose out of nowhere for her. She gasped and accepted it, blushing.

"You're Enomoto Azusa-chan, right?" Kaito said, reading off of her nametag and smiling a smile bright enough to rival the sun.

"Y-Yes," she answered, twirling the rose petals through her fingers and blushing further.

Kaito's grin grew. "I'm Kuroba Kaito. You know, you're really pretty, huh, Azusa-chan?"

Immediately, Azusa swooned. "No, no not at all," she fawned, blushing.

"Don't be shy, Azusa-chan!"

"Kuroba-san –"

"Oh please, call me Kaito!"

"I couldn't ever do that, K –"

"Kaito! Kaito Kaito Kaito! You _have _to say it!" insisted Kaito, a pathetically adorable pout on his face.

Azusa melted. "Kaito..."

"That's right. Can't wait to see you later, Azusa-chan!" Kaito beamed.

"Of c-course," Azusa stammered, walking off with a still-red face.

Turning back to a slightly (though he'd never admit it) awed Saguru, his face turned from bright and sunny back to dark and almost angry. "Told you."

"That was nineteen seconds exactly," commented Saguru.

"So what's your point about me being forever alone or whatever the hell you were saying?"

"I'd like to make a deal with you," Saguru said.

_Okay, be careful with the words you use. Don't screw this up. _

"If you can get that person –" he motioned over at a nearby table, where a couple was dining – "to fall for you in _four days _starting today,I will not try to date Aoko-kun. If you fail, then I will be allowed to date Aoko-kun and you _cannot _interfere."

"_Four days_?" Kaito said, an eyebrow quirked. "Hakuba, you _were _present when I wooed Azusa in nineteen seconds, correct?"

"Yes, that is right." _Oh Kuroba, you are going to regret this, _Hakuba grinned to himself as Kaito smiled dangerously.

"Of course. I accept."

"No backing out now, Kuroba." _Mission accomplished!_

"That's no problem. _Four days_," scoffed Kaito. He looked over at the table. "So I just have to get her to –"

"Her?" Saguru wrinkled his eyebrows delicately before clicking his tongue. "No, no, no, you have to get _him _to fall for you, Kuroba."

"Him?" stated Kaito blankly, before understanding dawned on him. "You bastard," he muttered in a low, tight voice. "What the hell is wrong with your head."

"Kuroba, a deal is a deal after all," Saguru smiled. He glanced over at the table, his smirk growing with every passing moment.

Kaito wanted to sock him quite badly, but his next words caught and held Kaito's attention.

"Also, if you haven't noticed, that couple would be the lovely Mouri Ran –"

_Oh God no, it can't be_, Kaito thought desperately.

"– and the newly returned Kudou Shinichi."

* * *

**Wow, my first chapter fic. I feel accomplished now. So far, it's been planned for roughly five chapters, but we'll see. :3**

**This idea is probably worked to death, but... deal with it. I'm going to try to make sure this turned out ShinKai in the end, though it feels pretty KaiShin at the moment. **

**Reviews appreciated, flames will be eaten Natsu-style. (God, I've always wanted to say that.)**


	2. Philophobia

**__**_I desperately hope you like this. Seriously. Full A/N is at the bottom. _

_- Luna_

**_Deal_  
**

**Chapter Two: Philophobia**

Kudou Shinichi rubbed his temples as Ran attempted to further console him with a, "Shinichi, you'll find somebody, don't worry," in a tone she probably didn't intend to be condescending (though that's how it came across).

_Seriously, two weeks after turning back to Shinichi, and everything's gone completely wrong, _Shinichi thought wryly, lifting his cup of black tea to his lips with a pensive sigh.

_First Haibara – er, Miyano – confessed to me. Then I turned her down because I said I was in love with Ran. And today, when I finally managed to work up the courage to confess to Ran, she turns me down because apparently she's been dating that Eisuke kid for who knows how long. She said three months. _

_Strange how I failed to notice this despite being her little brother. _

So now Shinichi was left with a couple of options: Forget about Ran and move on, beg Ran to reconsider, break down and cry loudly...

_It's a little strange that I'm not feeling the slightest bit sad, _Shinichi realized with a start. _More like I'm just thinking about Kid's latest heist note and what he means by – Oh God, stop it. _

_Wait, why am I even thinking about that damn thief when I should be crying that Ran rejected me? _Musing quietly, he set down his cup and sent Ran a smile that didn't land anywhere near his eyes.

Ran glanced at him concernedly. "Shinichi –" she started, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"Please. Don't say anything. I'm trying to sort out my feelings."

Recoiling slightly at his bluntness, Ran picked up her scone and ripped off a piece indifferently.

_So... since I'm thinking about Kaitou Kid instead of Ran, does that make me...? Am I... No freaking way. I am not..._

_It has to be. There can't be any other reason, _his logical side snapped. _You don't spend time thinking about people unless they mean something to you, haven't you realized that?_

_If I'm actually in love with Kaitou Kid, I think I'll go kill myself. That or declare myself asexual and spend the rest of my life masquerading as a tree, _his illogical side argued. _Or maybe a squirrel. Whichever ends up easier._

_Then that means you've got a case of philophobia, _his other side sneered.

_There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, _the irrational side stated indignantly.

"Well," Ran's voice said, yanking Shinichi from his strange inward battle, "I'll be going now, since you don't seem to care anymore. Eisuke said he wanted to meet up with me later this afternoon, so..."

"Yeah, yeah," Shinichi responded, feeling slightly irritated with her interruption.

"Stay well, Shinichi," Ran added, a motherly tone entering her voice. "And I'll know if you aren't."

"I will. You too, Ran," he answered dutifully.

"And..." Ran began, arms already encased in her jacket sleeves. She studied her childhood friend's face – a face famous and perfect, though at the moment it was darkened and drawn – with a trace anxiety reentering her expression.

Suppressing a sigh, Shinichi asked, "Yes?" in a tired tone of voice.

"Don't give up on love, okay, Shinichi?"

Shinichi started. "What makes you think I'd ever do that?" _Except... I just was._

"Nothing," Ran replied, shrugging as a bit of sadness entered her eyes. "Just... you looked like you were considering it. Don't ever even consider it, Shinichi."

Surveying her earnest face for a moment, Shinichi looked down. "Okay."

"Good." She clapped him on the shoulder, smiled gently, and ambled out of Poirot, checking her phone as she did.

_Give up on love, huh... _Shinichi looked down into the shivering amber surface of his tea.

The sound of approaching footsteps made him frown and look up to find himself staring at a near-replica of himself. The only difference was the other's messy hairstyle and somewhat varied eye color.

"H-Hi," his newfound lookalike stuttered, turning red at eye contact.

_Do people usually do this kind of thing? Walk up to a complete stranger and say hi while blushing four hues of red? _Shinichi wondered, responding with, "Hello," in a polite tone that still managed to ask "what the hell are you doing?"

His doppelganger nodded, disregarding the "what the hell are you doing?" part of Shinichi's voice. "I'm Kuroba Kaito, a magician," he introduced, presenting a curled hand. With a small pop, a deep red rose sprang from his hand, and Kuroba tried to hand it to Shinichi.

Unimpressed, Shinichi raised an eyebrow, causing Kuroba to nearly beg, "Please?"

Accepting the rose, Shinichi was started at the petals' silkiness and that the flower's scent was strangely strong. _Maybe it's some kind of genetic engineering that makes roses smell stronger, or is this rose just more fragrant than most? Oh well, it's of no consequence anyway, _thought Shinichi.

"Thanks," Shinichi said, placing the rose beside his plate and returning to drinking his tea.

When he didn't sense a presence moving, he looked back up to find Kuroba _still _standing there.

"Can I help you?" asked Shinichi pointedly.

Kuroba was staring at him, dumbfounded. "Someone just told you their name and gave you a red rose, and you don't even..." He trailed off, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"What would the correct response be, Kuroba-san?" Shinichi questioned, slightly ruffled.

"The _polite_ thing to do if someone introduces you is to introduce yourself in response. And don't you know what red roses mean?"

Scowling, Shinichi said irately, "I'm Kudou Shinichi, a detective, and..." Kuroba's words sank in, making his eyes widen.

_Red roses? From a _guy_? Oh hell no._

Shinichi reopened his mouth and was about to brush off Kuroba was when his brain commented, _Actually, he kind of looks like the Kaitou Kid. And he's a magician..._ _Oh shut up, Shinichi. He's _not _Kaitou Kid, and you _aren't _in love with Kid anyway._

"...and... and I have a severe case of philophobia. Now, if you'll excuse me," Shinichi finished shakily, cheeks flushed. He tossed a couple thousand yen onto the table and stood to leave.

However, Kuroba blocked his way, and though Shinichi was slightly larger and taller than him, he still couldn't get past.

"Philophobia? What does that mean, Shinichi?"

Shinichi sighed for what seemed like the billionth time that day. "It means I am scared of love or falling in love, _Kuroba-san_," he explained through gritted teeth. _Who the hell gave him permission to call me by my first name?!_

"Oh. That's a strange fear," blinked Kuroba, and in this moment, Shinichi shoved past him, stumbled into the open, and walked briskly for the door, head down.

Behind him, he heard Kuroba call, "Wait, Shinichi!' and the telltale sound of footsteps reached his ears, causing him to walk as fast as possible. Which was pretty damn fast, actually.

"Shinichi!"

He walked faster.

"The hell, Shinichi! Slow down!"

He broke into a run.

"Wait, tantei-kun!"

Shinichi froze.

* * *

**W-Wow, this got a lot more follows/reviews/favorites than I was expecting. TBH, I was expecting literally one review and two follows. Thanks everyone. *cries in the corner***

**I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I wrote this way too fast.**

**At the rate I'm going, I believe I shall have six chapters instead of five. These chapters are pretty short, sorry. I'm pretty busy OTL.**

**- Luna**

**To **DetectiveConanFan13: **Thank you SO much for pointing that out! Fixed :) This is why I need a beta reader T^T**


	3. A Question and A Request

_Dear Lord this story has gone downhill. *sigh*. Anyway, full A/N is at the bottom. - Luna_

**_Deal_  
**

**Chapter Three: A Question and a Request**

This was the worst day ever. Worse than that time in the aquarium when the – okay, never mind.

First, Kaito had been forced to watch as Hakuba grinned smugly and left the café, already planning on buying tickets to Tropical Land for his and Aoko's first date.

Kaito had then watched as Shinichi and Ran had conversed sparsely before Ran left. Kaito had continued to sit and watch the detective, who was resting his head on a hand, deep in thought. Kaito gulped down the rest of his coffee, trying to find the courage to approach the detective.

And failing.

Sighing, Kaito sat back in his chair. It wasn't that Kaito was _scared _of Shinichi. But the thing was that every time he, Kid, had gotten close to the detective, he had felt something strange come over him, almost like an electric tingle that set his palms sweating and his face burning. The feeling wasn't particularly _un_pleasant, but even _his_ Poker Face had issues trying to cover up his suddenly blazing cheeks and the squeak in his voice.

_Okay, Kaito. This is for Aoko's future happiness! _He had finally thought and walked over to Shinichi in a burst of resolve.

Yet the second that Shinichi's gaze had turned on him, piercingly sapphire and slightly clouded from thinking, Kaito had felt himself melting into a blubbering mess as he had introduced himself and presented the bored-looking detective with a red rose.

Everything had proceeded downhill from there, concluding with Shinichi declaring himself a philophobic and scurrying out of the café.

_Damn he can run, _thought Kaito as he near-sprinted after the detective. "Shinichi!" he called, trying to get the detective at least slow down for half a second, but in response, the other walked even faster.

"The hell, Shinichi, slow down!" Kaito screamed, starting to get pissed.

Shinichi was now full-on running like his life depended on it.

Kaito growled under his breath before yelling, "Wait, tantei-kun!" in a fit of anger.

It didn't register to him that he'd just given away his super-secret criminal identity as Shinichi halted abruptly, allowing Kaito to catch up.

It hit him when Shinichi turned to stare at him, his eyes narrowed.

_Oh my God. I am such an idiot._

"What did you just call me?" Shinichi's voice was low and emotionless.

"Ha ha, I knew that would get your attention! I read in the newspapers that's what Kid calls you..." stuttered Kaito, forcing a laugh as he constructed a lie on the spot.

The detective shook his head. "No, that makes no sense. 'Tantei-kun' is what Kid called _Edogawa Conan._ Furthermore, I have no relation to Kid beside the one time I attended his heist at the clock tower."

He stepped closer, causing Kaito to shy away. Kaito realized he could _smell_ Shinichi, who smelled like a mixture of peppermint and something sweet and rich like dark chocolate. The realization caused a shiver to run down his back. "Uh..." he said eloquently.

"The only person who knows that I was Edogawa Conan and is related to Kid's heists in some way is Kid himself." Shinichi drew himself up and leaned away from Kaito, who breathed a sigh of relief but tensed at Shinichi's next words:

"This leads me to the conclusion that you are the infamous Phantom Thief 1412, also known as Kaitou Kid. Am I right?" A smile swept across Shinichi's face.

Kaito stared vacantly at the smirking detective. He'd known the detective as Kuroba Kaito for roughly four minutes, and he'd already given away his identity. Pathetic.

Shinichi watched the other teenager's face carefully. He knew – he was _positive _– that his deduction was correct. There was simply no other explanation for Kuroba's likeness to him and the fact that he was a magician. The probability of Kuroba _not _being Kid was so extremely low that he didn't even consider it.

As a distinctly Kid-esque grin spread across Kuroba's face, Shinichi gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"Nicely done, tantei-kun," Kuroba beamed. "Now that you've figured me out, what are you going to do about it?"

Shinichi blinked. "Um... I didn't really get that far."

Kuroba gasped – a genuine gasp that actually broke through his wretched Poker Face. (Shinichi frowned, realizing that he could actually tell the difference between Kid's fake gasp and his real gasp.)

Composing himself, Kuroba asked, "What do you mean? Shouldn't the answer be pretty clear?"

"What?" _Oh wait. Yeah, it should be pretty clear._

As Shinichi moved to either say, "Yep, I'm going to turn you in," or attack Kid, the question of _"Why wasn't that my first reaction?"_ struck him.

He stopped short, frowning. Kuroba was watching him warily, but he ignored him.

_If I was Nakamori, Hakuba, or anyone else, I'm _sure _I would drag him off to the police station before even telling him I knew he was Kid. But... somehow I don't... want to?_

_Oh God, it's _that _again. It's me thinking that I'm in love with him. I'm not even sure that..._

_Why don't you _make _sure? _an agitated voice interjected from some dark part of his brain.

The idea slowly became appealing. _I could do that... and then turn him in if I don't actually love him. Then again, what would I do if I _do _love him? And shouldn't my views on justice have higher priority than my own selfish "love"?_

Finally, Shinichi looked up, mildly surprised that Kuroba was still standing there watching him. For a minute Shinichi was troubled as to _why _he was still there – was Shinichi about to be attacked by a vat of orange dye and he wanted a front row seat? – but he shook the feeling off..

Gathering his courage, Shinichi stated, "I'd like to propose a... deal."

Watching as the other tensed visibly (again, why?), he continued, "I won't turn you in." Kuroba frowned, opening his mouth to comment, but Shinichi cut him off.

"In exchange –" Shinichi coughed into his hand, averting his gaze as he became aware that his cheeks were suddenly afire, "– you have to go on a... er..." He cleared his throat. _Here goes my last shred of dignity. _"...you have to spend a day with me."

For a moment Kuroba was silent. Shinichi looked up to see he was standing there, blinking uncomprehendingly, his own face going slightly pink. "Excuse me?"

"You have to spend a day with me, Kuroba-san. Alone," Shinichi clarified in a near-whisper.

There was a very awkward silence as two near-identical twins stood facing each other, both blushing madly.

"You're – you're kidding me," Kuroba finally said.

"No, actually, I'm not."

Kuroba stared at Shinichi, wide-eyed. "You _have _to be."

"And I repeat: No, actually, I'm not."

"You, Edogawa Conan, _Kudou Shinichi, _the Heisei Holmes, the savior of the police force, the Detective of the East –"

Shinichi shifted uncomfortably. "There's no need to list out all my other names."

"– are asking me, Kuroba Kaito, _Kaitou Kid, _the Heisei Lupin, the Last Wizard of the Century, the Magician Under the Moonlight, the 'infamous Phantom Thief 1412,' to go on a date with you."

"There are other ways of putting it, but yes, that is correct in essence," Shinichi replied stiffly. _Maybe that was a really bad idea, _he reflected regretfully but he still kept his eyes on Kuroba.

Meanwhile, Kaito was dumbfounded. _Completely_ dumfounded. _If this is normal, something is wrong with the world. Detectives do not suddenly ask out known criminals of the same gender. And what happened to his philophobia?_

But Shinichi was looking at him so earnestly that he had no doubt the detective honestly _wanted _to go on a date with him. Even _knowing _that he was a criminal and that he was male and being a self-proclaimed philophobic. It made absolutely no sense.

"Okay," Kaito finally agreed, watching as Shinichi suddenly seemed to be... suppressing a smile? "I'll meet you at your house tomorrow at eight. But I have a question and a request."

"Yes?" Shinichi asked, sounding slightly apprehensive.

"Will you turn me in after our..." Kaito struggled for a second, "..._day_ together?"

Shinichi shrugged noncommittally. "I have no idea."

Kaito searched his body language and face for a sign of lying, but found nothing. The detective was being sincere – that or he was an expert liar. Kaito would just have to take that chance. "Okay."

"And your request?" Shinichi prompted.

Turning pink again, Kaito murmured, "Call me Kaito."

Shinichi looked a bit caught off guard, but he nodded slowly. "Um, sure... _Kaito_."

"Thank you." Kaito turned a slightly darker shade of pink.

They stood on the sidewalk in a weighted silence before Shinichi broke it. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." With an awkward bow of his head, he turned and hurried off.

Kaito watched him go before stretching his arms and starting in the opposite direction. _I guess during our "day" I could investigate that weird feeling I get when I'm around him. I might as well take advantage of the situation..._

_...and at the very least, I've won the bet with Hakuba._

* * *

**Yeah. I know. It's pretty... faily. OTL**_  
_

**I was rereading the first two chapters and I was just thinking about how SERIOUSLY, you can see this plot from a mile away. **

**Someday I'll stop writing cliches. But it is not that day.**

**Anyway, I'll come out of the pity corner now. I'm not going to even ask for reviews (I NEVER REVIEW - sorry, sad but true) but they'd be nice.**


	4. Based On Temperature

**__**_Here we are. Sorry it's late! This chapter may be a bit sad. Apologies. - Luna_

**_Deal_**

**Chapter Four: Based On Temperature**

The second Kaito's finger left the doorbell, the large oak front door of the Kudou mansion yawned open, causing the magician to move back slightly. And when the man of the mansion stepped out, Kaito did a double take.

For oncein his lifetime, the detective wasn'tclad in some kind of a suit/button-up, choosing instead a jacket, t-shirt, and pair of jeans. His hair was slightly mussed, like he had just rolled out of bed, and the jacket was thrown casually over his shoulders, like it had happened only seconds ago.

The effect was positively disconcerting – but_,_ Kaito admitted inwardly, also positively... sexy.

_In a non-attractive way_, Kaito hurriedly told himself, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He ignored the fact that it wasn't exactly possible for somebody to be sexy without being attractive. "Hey."

Shinichi watched Kaito in part concern, part self-consciousness, and part confusion. _Damn it, I knew I should've worn my usual, _he thought as the thief's eyes shifted away restlessly.

"Good morning," he croaked.

Kaito shivered. Shinichi's voice was low and a bit raspy, but it only added to his charm. _Damn him, why couldn't he have just worn his usual? _Kaito cursed mentally. _I bet I could stand him if he was in his stupid blue suit and bowtie!_

"So, you ready?" Kaito asked, forcing on his Poker Face.

Shinichi nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Can we go to a coffee shop first? I just got up a couple of minutes ago."

"Uh, sure," answered Kaito, blinking as the detective strode past him and out the front gates. He jogged to catch up, and the two held an awkward silence for a long stretch of sidewalk before Shinichi finally spoke.

"What do you want to do today, Ku – Kaito?"

Kaito shrugged. "Don't you want to decide?"

"Not really." Shinichi stopped, forcing Kaito to follow suit, as they reached a small coffee shop. Shinichi pulled the door open and strolled in, leaving Kaito to scramble in after him.

Soon they were seated at a small table by the window, Kaito a jumble of nerves and Shinichi acting annoyingly cool. A timid waitress slipped menus in front of them and hurried away. Shinichi glanced down at the menu disinterestedly and sighed, placing his head on his hands and peering out the window. Kaito picked up the menu and opened it, eyes sweeping over the food options before moving over to the boy sitting across from him.

Kaito watched as Shinichi studied the passing people with a calm smile curving his lips. The sight made him think, _Is this guy even human?! How the hell can he act so collected and se – we are not going to use _that _word again, Kaito. We are not._

Underneath his mask, Shinichi was screaming. _Oh my God, this was such a freaking bad idea! I can't believe that I'm in a _date _with _the _Kaitou Kid, _and _I know his civilian identity, _and _I don't want to turn him in! _

He peeked over at Kaito, whose eyes were perusing the menu, displaying not a single sign of discomfort. _Is this guy even human?! How the hell can he act so collected when he's on a date with his male rival?!_

The waitress returned, still with her head bowed slightly. "I-I'll take your orders now," she said in a voice so small it went almost unnoticed by Shinichi.

Shinichi opened his mouth to order, but Kaito cut in, "Hey there, are you okay? C'mon, raise that beautiful face of yours!" Shinichi's mouth dropped farther open as the waitress blushed a vivid cerise and lifted her head a couple inches. She was actually fairly pretty, though her eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick glasses.

"I like your glasses, waitress-chan," Kaito complimented cheerfully. He presented a rose – _pink _– and handed it to her, grinning manically.

"Th – Thank you," she stammered, pale fingers gripping the flower stem as her blush darkened a couple more shades.

"I'm Kuroba Kaito," Kaito said. "What's your name?"

"It's Mizutani Hanako," she answered.

"What a pretty name, Hana-chan," Kaito said, his grin growing.

Hanako, whose blush had just started receding, jump-started back into place. "N-No, of course not, Kuroba-san."

"Call me Kaito." Kaito's eyes softened and become more serious, his smile sliding from bright and happy to gentle and caring.

"K-Kaito."

All throughout this exchange, Shinichi had stiffened and looked away. Something was eating away at his stomach – a dark feeling, something like... anger? Hatred? It was hard to pinpoint. The only thing identifiable about it was that he wanted to shove Mizutani Hanako into a very deep and dark hole. And if she happened to break a bone or two, he wouldn't really mind.

The thought jarred him. _How could I ever think that? _he reprimanded himself. _You're a _detective. _You try to prevent murder and people getting hurt. You _stop murders from committing suicide. _What are you even _thinking_?_

"Shinichi? Tell Hana-chan what you'd like." The sound of Kaito's voice calling him back to reality, Shinichi blinked and looked at "Hana-chan," who was smiling warmly at him, timidity long forgotten.

A pang of horror struck him – why would _Kudou Shinichi _ever wish such a nice and sweet girl pain? Brushing it aside, Shinichi coughed and said, "Uh, sorry. I'll have an extra-large black coffee and –"

"We're going to share a piece of triple-chocolate cake. I'll have a cup of hot chocolate," Kaito interrupted, and Shinichi blinked at him.

A strangled expression slid across Hanako's face. "I didn't realize that you two were... Oh, I apologize. I'll be right back out."

Shinichi watched her go, her head drooping, before turning to glare at Kaito. "What the hell was that for?"

"This is a date, is it not?" Kaito winked, face slightly pink, and Shinichi stared at him, a blush spreading across his own face.

Kaito had been fairly confused at the detective's response to his wooing Hanako – Kaito had simply made it his policy to make anyone he met smile, by any means – but he knew that he wasn't liking the dark glint in Shinichi's eye and his tense body language. His (_no, _the_, what are you even considering?! _Kaito berated himself) detective wasn't happy, and that was all that had mattered to him at the moment.

After finishing their "breakfast" – and actually sharing the piece of cake – the two debated on what to do for the day, and after a long while filled with whines (Kaito) and "No, you pick! I'm the one taking you on a date!" (Shinichi), they finally decided to go to Tropical Land.

_This is a fairly unoriginal idea,_ Shinichi realized as they stood in line for the Mystery Coaster. Kaito was glancing around the cave, observing the faux décor, when Shinichi nudged him.

"I solved a murder here when I was with Ran," he murmured in a low voice, leaning in beside Kaito's ear.

Kaito did a double take, then retorted bitingly, "Is that exactly something you should be telling me? That you solved a freaking _murder_?"

Shinichi recoiled. "Sorry," he apologized icily, moving away.

_What does he even _think _he's doing, mentioning his date with _Ran _while _we're _on a date?! _Kaito was thinking furiously, even as he and Shinichi were admitted onto the coaster. He slid into the seat beside Shinichi, the safety bar lowering over his head.

The thief and detective sat in silence, Shinichi feeling somewhat confused at Kaito's reaction and Kaito still seething. The coaster started moving, and right before the crest of the first drop, Kaito's hand managed to find its way atop Shinichi's.

_What –? _Shinichi started slightly, turning to stare at the other teen just before the car plummeted down the tracks.

The ride was over after a few minutes, and the two disembarked. From there, they continued going on rides before they decided to take a break, stopping in the amusement park store.

Shinichi rolled his eyes at the cheaply made articles for sale, while Kaito hung around one aisle, not really caring and mostly enjoying the rest from the roller coasters. Glancing to the side, he discovered he was standing beside a display of mood rings.

_Wow, it's like a piece of my childhood, _he thought fondly, picking one up. Shinichi noticed and strolled over. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to check out this mood ring." Kaito swiped a thumb over the outside and watched as it changed colors. Wondering what it meant, he bent over to check the chart provided before proceeding to turn bright red.

Kaito quickly stuffed the ring back into its slot and near-ran out of the store. "Those change color on body temperature."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow and leaned over, pulling out the ring Kaito had just touched. It was a bright red, and when Shinichi touched the parts where it had started to turn back to green, it reverted back to red. _Strange. _Out of curiosity, he read the description of red.

_In love._

Shinichi went red. "Th-That's right, it's only based on temperature," he stammered, hurrying after Kaito and depositing the ring back into its place.

It was around eight o'clock at night when Shinichi and Kaito finally left Tropical Land and went to a semi-formal restaurant. They attracted a few strange stares, two teenage boys who looked almost exactly identical sitting down together to eat dinner, but both ignored them pointedly.

A black-clad waiter ambled forward. "What would you two like for dinner?" he asked, producing a notepad from thin air and eyeing the two with an eyebrow cocked.

Shinichi ordered, as did Kaito, and the waiter left, humming distastefully.

Kaito ignored him and turned to Shinichi. "So... I guess this is it."

Shinichi shrugged. "I guess." There was a hint of sadness in Shinichi's voice that Kaito didn't fail to hear.

There was a silence.

"I have something important to tell you," both suddenly burst simultaneously, looking at each other in shock.

_Could it be...? _Shinichi thought desperately.

_No way... _Kaito gasped mentally, eyes widening.

"I – Er – you can go first," said Shinichi.

Kaito turned seven shades of pink. "Uh – okay." He took a deep breath. "Over the course of our date, I've discovered that, I, er..." He broke off for a moment, lost in the gleaming azure of Shinichi's eyes.

"You...?" prompted Shinichi.

Snapping out of it, Kaito cleared his throat. "I... think... No, I know that I'm in lo –"

A shrill tune suddenly began to play from an unknown source, immediately shattering every last bit of the tense atmosphere. Shinichi exhaled. "It's yours."

Kaito nodded mutely, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. The caller ID read _Hakuba Saguru. _Grinding his back teeth, Kaito smiled tightly at Shinichi. _That English bastard has way the worst freaking timing on the planet!_

"You can go take that," Shinichi commented, smiling tersely at the cell phone. "You're supposed to take calls by the bathroom."

"R-Right."

Shinichi watched as Kaito left, hand tightly encircled around his cell phone. _Damn it, seriously?! I swear he was about to tell me that he's in love with me... And I would've told him the same... _He buried his face in his hands. _Why is it always me?!_

Kaito, now by the bathroom, jabbed the "answer call" button. "Hakuba. What the hell."

"So how's Kudou-san going?" There was a jeer in the British teen's voice. "Managed to tell him your name yet? Get him to accept a rose?"

"Actually, we're on a date right now, and you just interrupted his confession!" snapped Kaito fiercely.

Saguru was at a loss for words for a moment. "O-On a date?"

"Yes." Kaito groaned. "Now why'd you even call?"

* * *

Shinichi, back at the table, was now tapping his fingers on the tabletop. What was taking Kaito so long?

Suddenly, he felt a small vibration against his leg and pulled out a buzzing cell phone. He smiled wryly. _Looks like I'll be joining Kaito by the bathrooms. _

Shinichi answered the call as he stood to go. "Hello?" he asked as he marched across the restaurant.

* * *

"Why do you sound so upset that I'd interrupted your confession?" Hakuba said slyly. "Wait – don't tell me, you've fallen for _Kudou-san_?!"

Kaito stifled a gasp. _How'd he... There is no freaking way! _"NO, _I am _not _in love with Shinichi_!" he half-shrieked into the phone. "How could anyone even fall for him?! I'm only on a date with him because of _your _stupid deal that if I got him to fall for me you'd stay away from Aoko! _There is no other reason! _God!" With that, he hung up, storming around a corner...

...and coming face to face with a pale Shinichi.

"Shinichi..." Kaito breathed, wide-eyed. "Wait... you didn't... you didn't _hear _that, did you?"

The detective slid a cell phone into his pocket before looking down, his bangs hiding his face. "I'll... I'll see you later, Kuroba-san." And with that, he turned and ran out of the restaurant, leaving Kaito standing by himself.

* * *

**Yeah... I know. DO NOT WORRY, all will be resolved. I SWEAR. Next chapter.**

**Once I had a dream that I reached 40 reviews... but dreams, after all, are dreams.**


	5. The Detective and The Thief

_**Deal**_

**Chapter Five: The Detective and The Thief**

It had been exactly one week since Kudou Shinichi and Kuroba Kaito's date and exactly five days since school in both the Teitan and Ekoda schools had started once more.

It had also been exactly five days since Kuroba Kaito had pranked anyone.

Hakuba Saguru was watching his classmate out of the corner of his eye, worrying madly but trying to conceal his unease. But it was completely and utterly strange to see Kuroba Kaito sitting in his seat, calmly writing down an equation and solving it like he did it every day. The rest of the class was high strung and twitching, fearing that in a second hyperactive Kaito would reappear and none of them would be able to sit for months.

Yet nothing happened except for the teacher asking for the answer to the problem and Kaito raising his hand, saying the answer was seven.

Class was dismissed for lunch a few minutes later, and Nakamori Aoko hurried over to Saguru, her eyebrows woven together. "Hakuba-san, I'm starting to get really worried about Kaito –" she burst.

Saguru held up a hand to stop her. "I know, Aoko. I know."

Aoko blinked at the lack of honorifics before saying, "But he hasn't been acting normal since the holiday last week, Saguru –" (Saguru nearly blushed at her calling him by his first name but managed to hold it in somehow) "– and he tells me everything's fine whenever I ask." She contemplated him. "You're a friend of Kaito's, right?"

Lifting his gaze to the ceiling, Saguru considered the idea. "Um... no."

"Well, do you know anything about last week?"

"Sort of," Saguru answered hesistantly. _Could his behavior have something to do with the bet we made? But that's... absurd. Yet somehow, it's the only solution that fits all the evidence..._

"Then _please, _Saguru, try to help him!"

He looked at Aoko. Her eyes were large and pleading, and her bottom lip was quivering as she said, "Kaito's like my brother, and he's really starting to scare me!"

"Okay," Saguru stammered, his defenses breached by her imploring expression. "I'll go, er, ask him about it."

Aoko straightened, her cheerful grin back in place. "Thank you, Saguru. He'll be eating lunch on the roof." She sighed, the smile disappearing for a moment. "That's where he's been eating for the past week, at least."

Saguru nodded and watched as Aoko hurried off to eat with Momoi Keiko and a few other girls in the class.

_Before I confront Kuroba, I guess I'm going to need to ask about Kudou..._

* * *

Mouri Ran was sitting by Suzuki Sonoko, who was talking rapidly about Kyogoku Makoto, when she heard her phone buzzing. Smiling apologetically at Sonoko, she picked it up and flipped it open. The number displayed on the screen was unfamiliar.

"Who is it?" Sonoko asked, irritated by her friend's diverted attention.

"I don't know," Ran replied, puzzled. She hit the talk button and pressed the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Is this Mouri Ran-san?" a voice said in British-accented Japanese.

"Um, yes. Who is this?"

"Ah, I have the right number. This is Hakuba Saguru, a friend of Kudou Shinichi's. I apologize for calling you, but can I ask about Kudou-san?"

"Of course. But, um, we're not very close anymore," Ran commented ruefully.

"But you're the closest one to him at the moment, correct?"

"I supposed that's true – Hattori-kun hasn't come around for a while and other than that, he doesn't have very many friends."

A sigh came from the other end. "He's anti-social?"

"Ever since he came back from that big case he's been distant from everyone. And, actually, he hasn't been at school for the past five days."

"Really?"

"To be technical, he's been out of touch since the last time I saw him at that café."

"Is that so."

Ran gulped and turned away from a questioning Sonoko. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, "Also, I just heard earlier today that he's been in the hospital for about a week."

There was a sharp intake of breath before the man on the other end seemed to regain himself. "Tell me more."

* * *

_Beep._

Shinichi breathed softly, blinking rapidly. His internal clock told him it was around lunchtime.

_Beep._

He'd been there for so long... His hand tightened around the empty paper cup he held.

_Beep._

What _he_ had done, what he had _said, _was absolutely unforgiveable.

_Beep._

His eyelids felt heavy.

_Beep._

It would be _so _easy to just let go...

_Beep._

It would be such a relief...

_Beep._

But he couldn't do that, not when...

_Beep._

The paper cup fell to the ground and rolled away.

_Beep._

Shinichi's eyelids dropped shut.

_Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep._

* * *

Kaito was sitting by himself, holding a sandwich loosely as the wind ran rough fingers through his hair, when he heard the door to the roof open and shut. Glancing over, he saw that Hakuba was standing there, looking grim and clutching his cell phone in a death grip.

"Oh. Hi," Kaito said disinterestedly. _Go away, Hakuba._

"Why are you acting like this?" queried Hakuba without preamble.

Turning to stare at the determined detective, Kaito let out an apathetic sigh. "There's no reason."

"Of course there is. You haven't pranked anyone since school started again, you haven't flipped Aoko's skirt once, you haven't gotten into an argument with me about Holmes versus Lupin –"

"When did she become 'Aoko'?" Kaito asked flatly.

Hakuba snapped. Over the whoosh of the wind, he yelled, "_What the hell's wrong with you, Kuroba_?!"

There was silence on the roof. Kaito was staring at Hakuba with tired eyes, eyes that suddenly were overcome with sadness as he began to speak. "I lost someone I was desperately in love with."

"You haven't lost Kudou-san," Hakuba snarled.

Kaito stirred, but didn't bother to deny the accusation. "You don't know that."

"I'm serious, Kaito!" Saguru shouted, swearing in English under his breath. "I'm sure he – er – feels the same way about you! Nothing's unfixable!" _Talk about awkward..._

"If you overheard Aoko saying she'd only date you in order to help someone else, that it'd be impossible to ever even fall for you, what would you?" Kaito inquired, his voice no longer listless and taking on a glasslike quality.

Saguru blinked. _Is that what happened? Kudou-san overheard what Kaito was screaming at me over the phone? _"I – I would try to talk to her about it and explain the situation."

"What was the situation?" Kaito sighed and put down the sandwich that he had been holding.

Saguru blinked. "Huh?"

"There was no reason for me to yell that I didn't love him. If I was so scared of somebody else knowing, then I didn't love him enough to not care what other people think. Don't you get it?"

"You were just embarrassed. If he truly loves you, he'll understand!"

There was a slight pause, and Kaito frowned at Hakuba. "Why are you trying to help me?"

"It was a... request."

"From Aoko, clearly." Kaito sighed, looking away. "If you must know, I won't talk to him because I'm scared. I'm scared that he's going to say, 'Don't worry, Kaito, the feeling's mutual. I could never fall in love with you,' or even 'Ha! I can't believe you fell for that joke I pulled on you. I'd never go on a date with you; it was a bet with Ran.'" He laughed mirthlessly, eyes falling down to look over the city.

Saguru felt a stab of pain for his classmate. _This might be a bit overdramatic, but... _

"I didn't want to tell you this, Kaito," Saguru said in a low voice, "but Kudou-san has been in the hospital for the past week. Ever since that date."

Kaito's head jerked upwards. "What?"

"Can you hazard a guess as to _why _he's been in the hospital?"

"He... he _wouldn't,_" Kaito breathed, eyes wide. "Shinichi would never... he... suicide?"

Saguru shrugged. "New Beika Hospital. I hear he's barely hanging on."

The words were barely out of his mouth before Kaito had disappeared from the roof, leaving behind his half-eaten lunch.

Grinning, Saguru strolled to the edge of the rooftop. He, as a detective, didn't approve of twisting the truth, but if it earned him a chance to see Nakamori Aoko's smile, it was worth every exaggerated word.

* * *

"Excuse me, but where is Kudou Shinichi's room?"

The brown-haired nurse manning the receptionist's desk looked quizzically up at the messy-haired teenager in front of her, who was bouncing frantically on the balls of his feet.

The nurse scrolled through the database. "I'm sorry, but there doesn't appear to be anyone here by that name. However, we do have a Ku –"

The boy was gone before she even finished, careening down the hall towards the private rooms. "My God, kids these days are so impatient." She sighed before a thought dawned upon her. "Actually, maybe _that_ guy is Kudou Shinichi...? The one who... No, it couldn't be."

* * *

Kaito was running frantically through the halls with a single thought running through his head:

_Find Shinichi._

He rounded a corner and jolted to a stop.

Kudou Shinichi, haggard, drawn, and not moving, was sprawled out on a chair outside of a room door. His eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted. An empty coffee cup had fallen onto the floor beneath his pale, slack hand, as if he'd dropped it.

"Shinichi!" Kaito yelled.

Shinichi opened his eyes to find himself being hugged nearly to death by a pair of arms. Frowning, he sat up and managed to push the other off of him.

It shocked him to see Kuroba Kaito standing in front of him, looking relieved yet extremely miserable. "Oi, Kaito, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry!"

Shinichi blinked, finding himself with a lapful of blubbering magician. "I didn't mean it! I was just embarrassed because I thought that Hakuba wouldn't understand! I love you, Shinichi! I love you!"

Shinichi wrapped his arms around Kaito. "I love you too, Kaito," he replied in a confused voice.

Kaito pulled back. "Really?"

Shinichi stared at him. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"B-But... why'd you run out of the restaurant back then? Wasn't it because you heard what I said on the phone?"

"No."

"_No_?"

"Well, I did hear that it'd be impossible for you to fall for me and that you were only dating me to protect someone named Aoko. But that's not the reason why I ran out of there."

"What? Weren't you sad? Or hurt? Or something?"

"I figured you were just embarrassed, since we're both male and all. All the other signs pointed to you being madly in love with me, and I figured that during your bet with whoever you were on the phone with you fell for me," Shinichi beamed.

Kaito was at a loss. "So... then why'd you run out of the restaurant?"

"I got a call from my dad to tell me that my mom was in a car accident. She was walking across the street when a crazy fan of hers hit her with his car with intent to kill. When I asked why he did it to someone he apparently was a fan of, he said it was because he wanted to 'send her to heaven so she could be a real angel.'" Shinichi's eyes darkened. "That's unforgiveable. My dad and I are trying to get him put in jail for the rest of his life, but Megure-keibu is considering putting him in an asylum instead."

He stretched, forcing Kaito to climb off of him. "I've been trying to stay awake for as long as I can so I can keep an eye on my mom as well as work on getting that idiot thrown in jail, so I've been drinking an insane amount of coffee, but I guess I finally fell asleep after all this time."

Kaito opened his mouth to comment on how unhealthy/insane it was to stay awake for a week by drinking coffee, but he was cut off by a loud b_eep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep _from the room behind them.

Shinichi glared at the door. "My mom's been messing with the machines and making them start flatlining and beeping like she's dying when she wants my dad's attention. It's a miracle that I managed to fall asleep with that happening all the time."

"So... you were never mad at me?"

Shinichi blinked. "Of course no –"

He was cut off when a pair of lips suddenly pressed against his. Shinichi was shocked to find that Kaito was kissing him, but his elation quickly overcame his shock, and he took control of the kiss expertly.

Finally they pulled apart, both panting slightly. Shinichi was grinning from ear to ear, and Kaito was glowing five radioactive shades of red.

"Wow," Shinichi said breathlessly. "I never thought our first kiss was going to be with me half-asleep in the middle of a hospital hall."

Kaito smirked. "We can always redo it, if you want."

And with that, the two of them, rivals, a detective and a thief, both male, one a self-proclaimed philophobic, the other a wanted criminal, walked away, hand and hand.

* * *

_"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."_

- Winston Churchill

* * *

OMG! It's _finished_! (Even if it's really short and rushed!)

And yep, I kinda trolled you with that resolution. Finally, not a cliché! Or... the farthest from a cliché that I'll ever get.

If you hated my resolution, please don't flame me. Actually, maybe you should, because I'm in the mood for crème brûlée right now.

JUST KIDDING. Don't flame me.

I've got a lot to say right now, so please... bear with me.

Firstly, I apologize for the very late upload – my favorite aunt came to visit from California, so I was a little busy.

Secondly, thank you very much to **foreverandeveralone **whose review was the 40th review! :D I now believe Owl City because dreams apparently don't turn to dust.

Thirdly/lastly, I'd appreciate if you'd review on either 1) my way of resolving the conflict – hate/like?, 2) whether my next story should be KaiShin or ShinKai (I like KaiShin as well as ShinKai), or 3) a synonym for "blink," and/or "blush" because I overuse both of them. -_-;;

**Thanks for reading ****_Deal._**I love all of my readers, especially all my lurkers.

Till next time! - Luna Darkside


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